Legacy uk

There was a moment during the Prime Minister’s highly anticipated environment speech when something quite unexpected happened. For the majority of the 25 minutes, Theresa May attempted to communicate the contents and commitments of the 151-page Environment Plan (PDF, 11MB). Emphasis was given to the recent progress in banning microbeads as well as the nine billion fewer plastic bags used following the introduction of the 5p charge in retail outlets across the UK. Yet, what stood out was not so much the bedazzling spread of content. Instead, it was a rare admission.Seeming to go momentarily off script, May described how commonly today ‘we look back in horror at some of the damage done to our environment in the past,’ citing the historical dumping of toxic chemical into rivers. ‘In years to come,’ she added, ‘I think people will be shocked at how today we allow so much plastic to be produced needlessly.’The PM could easily have been talking … [Read more...] about Does the UK government’s 25-Year Environment Plan go far enough? Featured

There was a moment during the Prime Minister’s highly anticipated environment speech when something quite unexpected happened. For the majority of the 25 minutes, Theresa May attempted to communicate the contents and commitments of the 151-page Environment Plan (PDF, 11MB). Emphasis was given to the recent progress in banning microbeads as well as the nine billion fewer plastic bags used following the introduction of the 5p charge in retail outlets across the UK. Yet, what stood out was not so much the bedazzling spread of content. Instead, it was a rare admission.Seeming to go momentarily off script, May described how commonly today ‘we look back in horror at some of the damage done to our environment in the past,’ citing the historical dumping of toxic chemical into rivers. ‘In years to come,’ she added, ‘I think people will be shocked at how today we allow so much plastic to be produced needlessly.’The PM could easily have been talking … [Read more...] about Does the UK government’s 25-Year Environment Plan go far enough?

“The UK has a great tradition of leadership in aviation. But any industry can only take so many knocks before the damage is permanent. I respect the UK for its historic role but to write a successful next chapter, we must say ’basta.’ The government’s policy pillars of excessive taxes, inefficient airport regulation and limiting growth will destroy the UK’s proud aviation legacy,” said Giovanni Bisignani, IATA’s Director General and CEO in a speech to the Aviation Club in London. Bisignani noted that aviation supports about 1.5 million UK jobs along with GBP76 billion in economic activity. “Aviation provides critical global connectivity to this island nation. It is a great mystery to me why the government seems so intent on destroying its competitiveness with a policy agenda stuck in the past,” said Bisignani. To support aviation’s economic benefits, he called for urgent policy action in the following areas: Cost: The World … [Read more...] about UK policies “will destroy the proud legacy” of British aviation

Place names are important for precisely and accurately referring to a place. In regions that have a long history of human occupation, almost every place and every feature that needs a name now has one. These names can be rich in meaning, reflecting the complex development of the landscape as the sum of recent human activities, together with echoes of historical events and past environments. But what happens in places such as the Antarctic Peninsula that are more recently discovered, where there has never been a native population, and explorers and cartographers are presented with an ‘unlabelled’ landscape, a geographical blank canvas?The place names on the Antarctic Peninsula are shorthand for its history. The jigsaw of clusters of related names shows how the geography of the region was slowly pieced together – first by successive exploratory expeditions and later by surveyors and scientists. Many of the names evoke the adventures and hardships of these … [Read more...] about Naming the un-named

The Ankerwycke yew stands in a water meadow on the flood plain of the River Thames. Its trunk measures 8m (26ft). This tree is thought to be more than 1,400 years old and is said to stand on the exact spot where King John signed the Magna Carta in 1215.As the Magna Carta marks its 800th anniversary this month [June], six saplings grown from cuttings of the famous yew are being grown in a hedge at Edinburgh’s Botanic Gardens. And they are expected to live for at least several hundred, if not thousands of years.The hedge is being grown from iconic yew trees across Britain, including some of the most ancient which are thought to be hundreds of years old. These include trees at Borrowdale in Yorkshire, which feature in William Wordsworth’s 1803 poem Yew Trees, and cuttings from the Fortingall Yew in Perthshire, which is reputed to be 4,000 years old.Martin Gardner MBE the Gardens’ International Conifer Conservation Programme Co-ordinator who heads the scheme, says that … [Read more...] about Keeping yew safe

The Northumberland coast is rightly admired as one of the most picturesque locations in the British Isles. Here, in the far northeast of England, flanking the North Sea and close to the Scottish border, the photographer can find views of unspoilt beaches, coastal villages, ancient castles and a smattering of islands of historical importance.The most prominent castle along this coast is Bamburgh. Built on an outcrop of dolerite close to the shore, it has connections to English royalty that date back to the 12th century. The castle’s strategic position close to the sea and the border meant that it was the target of numerous cross-border raids by the Scots and a prized objective during England’s historic wars. For example, in 1464, Bamburgh became the first English castle to be defeated by artillery, following a nine- month siege during the War of the Roses.Today, Bamburgh Castle and the surrounding village are a popular stopover for those wishing to visit nearby Holy Island, … [Read more...] about Island sanctuaries

Have you heard about the outbreak of a sometimes fatal disease that saw 8,600 cases in one African country alone in 2014? There was another, smaller, outbreak in December. The same disease saw 18,000 cases between 2009 and 2011 in South Africa.That country is the giveaway: we’re not talking about Ebola. In this instance the disease was measles, which killed 122,000 people in 2012, according to the World Health Organization, and affects more than 20 million people every year.Grim mortality statistics are not the only way in which measles puts the current outbreak of Ebola into perspective. Many scientists, campaigners and aid workers are quick to point out that the global reaction to Ebola – and the indecent haste to manufacture a vaccine – says much about the way in which the West’s health priorities trump those in developing countries.At least all of us will have heard of measles. But it is one of just many diseases – at least 20 according to the WHO … [Read more...] about Dealing with drugs

In June, several hundred people were unwittingly trapped inside Bosnia-Herzegovina’s national parliament in Sarajevo for several hours as a series of protests engulfed the building.The cause of the protests was, on the face of it, an unusual one. The crowd’s anger was aimed at Bosnian parliamentarians and their inability to formulate a new law on identity documents. In January, the parliament missed a deadline to amend the existing law after a ruling from the Bosnian Constitutional Court in May 2011 rejected geographically tagged ID numbers.According to press reports, nearly 3,000 people surrounded the parliament, among them women with babies, senior citizens and students, many holding placards proclaiming: ‘We don’t want entities, we want identities.’ In the context of a country, that was torn apart by civil wars and ethnic violence during the 1990s, such demands for ‘identities’ is noteworthy.The protests draw attention to something … [Read more...] about Hotspot – Bosnia

Tired of London, tired of life, as Dr Johnson so neatly put it. However, his further claim that ‘there is in London all that life can afford’ has likely raised many an eyebrow over the intervening years, not least by the millions who flocked to the surrounding suburbs following the birth of the railways, escaping the fabled dirt, grime and squalor of the city. While undoubtedly a place where culture, society and business thrive, London has never epitomised a popular vision of an ecological hotspot.In the recent 2016 Mayoral election, won by Labour's Sadiq Khan, the environment – from air pollution to green spaces to cycle lanes to solar energy – was very much on the agenda. This can be partially attributed to a 21st century world where ‘liveability’ and ‘green cities’ are increasingly en vogue, moving from mere buzzwords to genuine concrete policies. However, the city’s 8.6 million residents have also spent the past four years … [Read more...] about London: a walk in the park

On a treeless tundra plateau deep in Norway’s Jotunheimen National Park, we stop before a bouncy suspension bridge over a snarling whitewater river. I shoot a glance at my 75-year-old mom. In a tone that contains more fatalism than enthusiasm, she reminds me, “I’ve never crossed one of these.” I nod and calmly, maybe a little enthusiastically, assure her, “You can do this.” But the flushed look on her face tells me she’s not buying that line. I don’t need reminding that I planned this weeklong trek—and convinced my mom she’d be OK. “Trust me,” I’d said, “I know you can make it.” My confidence is not unfounded. I like to refer to my mom as The World’s Toughest Grandma. She didn’t even start hiking until her late 40s, when I first got her on the trail. After early forays up New Hampshire’s Mt. Monadnock, we moved on to bigger adventures together, ranging from a hut traverse … [Read more...] about Norway: Home of the Giants